Austria Parties Are 'Far-Right,' You Say?
Yes, we get it, the party is 'far right.'
Excerpts from Nicholas Kulish's report from Berlin Saturday on the Austrian parliament reluctantly voting to raise its country's share in the euro-zone bailout of troubled countries like Greece:
Austria on Friday became the latest country to sign off on the expansion of the euro currency zone's bailout fund for heavily indebted countries, following a bruising debate in Parliament that underscored the political tensions behind the search for a solution to Europe's financial woes.
Despite sustained heckling from far-right legislators that compelled parliamentary leaders to call a temporary recess, the measure was approved by a healthy 117-to-53 margin. The vote meant that Austria agreed to raise its share of the bailout to 21.6 billion euros, or roughly $29.4 billion, from 12.2 billion euros.
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As the debate in Austria indicated, feelings run high on the subject of bailing out neighbors. Members of the far-right Alliance for Austria's Future unfurled a banner on the floor of the chamber demanding a referendum.
Peter Filzmaier, a professor of political science at the Danube University Krems, said that the far-right parties saw the rescue fund more as an opportunity to score political points than a chance to alter the outcome.
